Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique

H'Sao(Chad)

Biography

The band H'Sao was initially made up of three brothers and one sister
Rimtobaye. They sang at first in the church were their
father was the pastor, who named the group Hirondelle (swallow).
In 1994, they performed for the first time outside of church, at the Fête
de la musique, organised every year by the French Cultural Center.
The performance was met with acclaim and the three brothers started to perform more frequently.

They were joined by drummer Dono Bei Ledjebgue in 1995, and the group changed its name into H'Sao,
where the letter "H" still stands for Hirondelle, and Sao refers to the ancient Sao civilisation that was based in the
Lake Chad region from the 6th century until, probably, the 15th or 16th century (cf. [2]).

In 2000, H'Sao was invited for the Fest'Africa festival in Lille (France). They recorded their first demo and bought
instruments as, so far, by lack of financial means, they used their voices only to create their unique style of music,
influenced by gospel and their Chadian roots, mixed with soul, pop and R&B. They sing in English, French, Arab, Sara
and Kabalaye.

In 2001, H'Sao was selected to represent their country at the Jeux de la Francophonie
that was held in Ottawa. They won the bronze medal at the event. The group decided to settle in Montreal and
soon they were invited at several events and festivals. In 2003, H'Sao presented their first album
« H'Sao » at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Six years later, in
2009, they released a second album, the title « Vol 235 » (Flight 235) refers
to a virtual flight back to their roots in Chad (235 is the international phone prefix of Chad), whereas H'Sao, at the same
time, had gained new experiences and influences during their stay in Canada.
H'Sao has become a well-known exponent of the multicultural music scene in Canada. A new album
« Oria » aims at an international break-through.